Saturday, August 8, 2009

Taco Trio

My mom, sister and I decide to upgrade from our local taco stand to Boxcar Cantina, an authentic Northern New Mexican restaurant, in Greenwich (20 minutes outside Larchmont).

There were only two taco options on the menu, hard and soft tacos. To maintain continuity with my taco travels, I went for the soft tacos (requesting corn tortillas to keep it gluten-free). The soft taco plate came with three tacos--chicken, pork, and shrimp.

A quick side note -- a few weeks ago I never would have ordered such a dish. I did not like shrimp and pork gave me the heebeegeebees. However, in San Francisco, with Chase and his family, I discovered I indeed DO like shrimp and pork tacos can be quite enjoyable. So this soft taco plate fulfilled my love of tacos and my new food adventures.

Back to the tacos. I was skeptical at first, the tacos arrived with only one tortilla (as opposed to the double tortilla taco wrapping found at most restaurants/taco stands). I tasted shrimp first, adding black beans, Spanish rice, and picodegallo on top of the shrimp and shredded cheese. Wow! The grilled shrimp with a Cajun-y spice kept the taco light and refreshing, a nice taste for a summer meal. Next stop, the chicken taco which was surprisingly disappointing. All in all it was tasty, but after the mouth-watering combination of flavors present in the shrimp taco, the chicken was bland. I stopped mid-way through in order to try #3, the pork taco. If someone told me that pork tasted like my mom's brisket, I'd have surrendered myself to pork years ago. The sweet pork was properly balanced with the flavor of rice and beans. My only complaint was the "wet" meat made for a messy taco, one that could have used a second tortilla to help control the overflow.

I was too full (and satisfied) to finish the pork and chicken tacos, but brought then home to finish as a late-night snack. Even after a few hours in the refrigerator, the tacos were great.

Beyond the tacos, the food at Boxcar Cantina is totally worth a trip to Greenwich. Those in the mood for authentic Mexican can satisfy their craving at Boxcar and it also appeals to the less adventurous Mexican cuisine eaters. Four stars in my book; I will certainly be back.